Suction cleaners



Nov. 23, 1965 M. H. RIPPLE SUCTION CLEANERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 8. 1963 Nov. 23, 1965 M. H. RIPPLE 3,218,783

SUCTION CLEANERS Filed March a, 1963 z Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,218,783 SUCTION CLEANERS Melvin H. Ripple, North (lanton, Ohio, assignor to The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ghio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Mar. 8, 1963, Ser. No. 263,958 1 Claim. (Cl. 55--276) The present invention relates to suction cleaners and more particularly to a cleaner having a housing providing an extended passage for flow of air through a dirt filter, motor, fan and an air exhaust passageway prior to discharge to the atmosphere.

An object of the invention is to provide a suction cleaner having a housing including a filter chamber and exhaust passageway arranged alongside each other and having a common wall therebetween. Another object is to provide the housing with a motor-fan chamber at one end thereof and in communication with the filter chamber and the exhaust passageway. A further object is to provide the exhaust passageway in the housing with sound absorbing material to reduce the noise of cleaner operation. Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the suction cleaner,

FIGURE 2 is an exploded view of the elongated housing with parts broken away to more clearly show the construction,

FIGURE 3 is a section along the line 33 in FIG- URE 1,

FIGURE 4 is a view along the line 4-4 in FIGURE 1 with parts broken away to more clearly show the structure, and

FIGURE 5 is a section along the line 55 in FIG- URE 4.

The embodiment of the invention herein disclosed comprises a body 18 having a nozzle 11 at its front end from which rearwardly extends a pair of spaced arms 12 only one of which is shown. An elongated housing 13 has its lower portion 14 arranged between the spaced arms 12 and is pivotally mounted thereon. The cleaner is supported on front and rear wheels 15 and 16 respectively.

The housing 13 includes a substantially U-shaped central portion 17 having a front wall 18 from which projects opposed side walls 19 and 2th terminating at their upper ends in a top wall 21. The lower end 22 of the central portion 17 has a transverse partition 23 projecting inwardly from the side wall and terminates at 24 short of the other side wall 19 to form therewith part of an air inlet 25. The front wall 18 projects below the partition 23 and has an arcuate contour 26 between the side walls 19 and 20 to form the front half 27 of a motor-fan chamber 28. A rectangular shaped air outlet opening 29 is provided in the front wall 18 between the partition 23 and the upper edge 30 of the arcuate wall 26 of the motorfan chamber 28. The air outlet 29 extends from adjacent the side wall 20 to adjacent the free end 24 of the partition 23 at which point a rib 31 is provided in the front half 27 of the motor-fan chamber 28. A transverse wall 32 extends from the peripheral edge 33 of the opposed side walls 1920 and spans the space therebetween and has its lower edge 34 resting on the edge 35 of the partition 23. The transverse panel 32 also projects beyond the free end 24 of the partition 23 to complete the air inlet opening 25 by cooperating with the end 24 of the partition 23, rib 31, a portion of the front wall 18 and the adjacent side wall 19.

Spaced above the partition 23 is a secondary filter 37 which extends between the side walls 19 and 20, top wall 18 and the upper edge 38 of the transverse wall 32. The

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secondary filter 37, partition 23, adjacent areas of the top wall 18 and opposed side walls 19 and 20 form an air chamber 39 having its inlet through the secondary filter 37 and its discharge through the air inlet 25 into the motor-fan chamber 28.

A semi-cylindrically shaped member 40 forming the rear half of the motor-fan chamber 28 has an arcuate wall 41 and opposed end walls 42 and 43, and its peripheral edge 44 seats against the transverse wall 32 and the peripheral edge 33 of the lower portion 14 of the housing 13 to complete the motor-fan chamber 28.

A suction creating unit 45 including a motor 46 and fan system 47 is mounted in the motor-fan chamber 28 by a bracket 48 attached to the front half 27 of the motor-fan chamber 28 and by the rear half 40 of the chamber 28 fastened by bolts 50 threaded into the front half 27. The motor-fan chamber 28 is provided with trunnion means 51 and 52 to pivotally support the housing 13 between the arms 12 of the cleaner body 10. The armature shaft 53 of the motor 46 projects through the trunnion 51. An internal rib 54 is also provided in the rear half 40 of the cover for the motor-fan chamber 28 and cooperates with the rib 31 in the front half 27 to form a pressure seal in the motor-fan chamber to provide a suction pressure side 55 and an exhaust high pressure side 56 in the motorfan chamber 28. The suction pressure side 55 communicates with the air inlet 25 and the high pressure side with the air outlet 29.

The portion of the housing 13 above the motor-fan chamber 28 is closed by a cover 57 pivoted to the side walls 19 and 20 by suitable hinges 58 and is held in locked position by a latch 59 mounted on the upper end of the housing 13. The cover 57 cooperates with the central housing 17 to form a bag chamber 60. The cover 57 includes a panel 61 and side wall 62, the latter provided with a marginal recess 63 in which is arranged one end 64 of a hose 65 connected to a conduit 66 along the inner surface of the cover 57. Projecting from the conduit 66 is a tubular member 67 which projects through the inlet 68 of a dirt filtering bag 69 to support the latter. The dirt filtering bag 69, when inflated, fills the bag chamber 60 in the area between the top wall 21, the inner surface 78 of the front wall 13, secondary filter 37, side walls 19- 2t and the cover 57. The hose 65 extends from the cover 57 into one of the arms 12 of the cleaner body 18 and to the floor nozzle 11 to convey dirt-laden air from the latter through the hose 65 and conduit 66 into the filter bag 69.

A panel 71, forming part of the housing 13, is removably secured to the front wall 18 by a plurality of screws 72 to form an exhaust passageway 73. The panel 71 extends from the top wall 21 downwardly to the lower edge 30 of the air outlet 29 in the motor-fan chamber 28 and extends transversely between the side walls 1920 of the bag chamber 60. At the upper end 74 of the exhaust passageway 73 is a discharge port 75 provided in the panel 71 for escape of air from the motor-fan chamber 28.

In order to reduce the noise of cleaner operation caused by the air moving through the exhaust passageway 73 three strips of sound absorbing material 76 are arranged in the passageway 73 to provide two elongated spaced escape channels 77 leading to the discharge port 75. The sound absorbing strips 76 may be of sponge rubber or other suitable substance and each strip 76 completely fills the space between the inner surface of the panel 71 and the outer surface 78 of the bag housing wall 18.

A handle 79 is suitably secured to the top wall 21 of the housing 13 and is provided with a switch 80 to control current to the motor 46 and a conductor 81 the latter having a plug 82 for connection to a source of current.

In operation, the suction-creating motor-fan unit 45 creates suction in the floor nozzle 11 for removal of dirt from the surface being cleaned and draws dirt-laden air through the hose 65, conduit 66 and bag support 67 into the bag 69 which removes the dirt from the dirt-laden air stream. The bag chamber 60 is subjected to suction pressure and the clean air escaping from the bag 69 passes through the final filter 37, as indicated by the arrows 85 in FIGURES 2 and 4, into the air chamber 39 and escapes from the latter to the left thereof, as viewed in FIGURES 2 and 4, through the inlet 25 into the suction side of the motor-fan unit 45, indicated by the arrows 86. The clean air then enters the motor 46 and passes through the fan system 47 into the pressure side 56 of the motor-fan chamber 28 and through the outlet 29 into the exhaust passageway 73, as shown by the arrows 87. The air in the exhaust passageway 73 is distributed into the two channels 77 and passes along the wall 18 of the bag chamber 60 and along the panel 71 to the exhaust port 75 into the atmosphere. The spaced strips of sound absorbing material 76 forming the exhaust channels 77 absorb some of the noise created by the air to reduce the noise of cleaner operation.

From the foregoing it will be perceived I have provided an extended passageway for the moving air stream from the bag 69 and which causes noise in cleaner operation, in that the clean air passes from the bag chamber 60 into the motor-fan chamber 28 and then alongside and throughout the length of the bag chamber 60 to the discharge port 75 prior to escape to the atmosphere.

While I have shown and described but one embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that this embodiment is to be taken as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. I do not wish to be limited to the particular structure shown and described but to include all equivalent variations except as limited by the scope of the claim.

I claim:

In a suction cleaner, an elongated housing having a peripheral wall including opposed side walls and an end wall, said side walls terminating at one end in said end wall, a cover for said housing and movably mounted 4 thereon, first wall means in sald housing extending between said side walls and longitudinally of said housing, said first Wall means having one surface cooperating with said end wall, said side walls and one surface of said cover in defining a filter chamber extending substantially from said one end to the opposite end of said housing, a dirt filter in said filter chamber, means conveying dirt-laden air to said filter for removal of dirt to provide clean air, second wall means removably secured to said housing and cooperating with said first wall means to define an elongated exhaust passageway extending alongside said filter chamber from said one end of said housing to said opposite end, means defining an exhaust port to atmosphere in said housing at said one end of said exhaust passageway and housing, means defining a motor-fan chamber at said opposite end of said housing, a suction creating unit including a fan and driving motor in said motor-fan chamber, means in said housing at said opposite end defining an entrance leading from said filter chamber to said motor-fan chamber for conducting clean air to cool said motor, a secondary filter mounted in said housing between said filter chamber and the entrance leading to said motor-fan chamber, means defining an outlet from said motor-fan chamber to said opposite end of said exhaust passageway for movement of clean air along said exhaust passageway to said exhaust port for discharge of clean air to the atmosphere, and said exhaust passageway having sound absorbing material leading to said exhaust port.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,018,207 10/1935 Giambertoni 55-276 2,155,669 4/1939 Lofgren 55-276 XR 2,300,266 10/1942 Smellie 55276 XR 2,558,429 6/1951 Gerber 55372 XR 2,806,242 9/1957 Sparklin 15-'35l 3,040,362 6/1962 Krammes l5350 XR ROBERT F. BURNETT, Primary Examiner.

0 HARRY B. THORNTON, Examiner. 

